From the comfort of the dance floor, the art of DJing looks easy enough: a press of a button here, a turn of a knob there. But anyone who has attempted the life knows it isn\u2019t that simple.<\/p>\n
Janette Slack is one of many Hong Kong-born, internationally educated youngsters who have tried their hand at DJing. But unlike most, she was able to turn her deck-filled dreams into a successful global career. In the decade or so since she left our shores for London\u2019s underground music scene, Slack has racked up the accolades: she was named a \u201cfuture hero\u201d by industry publication\u00a0Mixmag; won the 2010 Pink Armada European female DJ competition; and secured a nomination for \u201cbest breakthrough DJ\u201d at the International Breakbeat Awards. And now, she\u2019s about to release her first full album, titled\u00a0Torture Garden Session.<\/p>\n
Slack has an impressive disc jockey CV, but she didn\u2019t enter the industry to chase awards or to look cool. She was obsessed with music long before turntables caught her fancy, and as a dance-obsessed youth, she made her first stage appearance at the age of 10.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a passion for music from a very young age, and really loved choreographing dance steps to songs,\u201d she says. \u201cI auditioned to dance for [Canto-pop singer] Sandy Lam Yik-lin for her 1991 concert and got the part. It was such an adrenaline rush performing at the Coliseum for 10 shows in a row, and I knew I wanted to get into something that involved music.\u201d<\/p>\n
But not until she attended university in London and surrounded herself with like-minded souls did music become a career option. \u201cA lot of friends who were making music invited me to their studios and fed my curiosity about how tracks were produced and remixed,\u201d says Slack.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe love of just DJing wasn\u2019t satisfying me enough, so I really wanted to know how tunes were recorded and put together. I felt I was being annoying always asking questions about equipment and theory, so I thought doing a course would benefit me.\u201d<\/p>\n
After spending her tertiary years tinkering with turntables, Slack signed up for an audio engineering course at the SAE Institute in London. \u201cIt was probably the only subject during my academic years that I fully enjoyed,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
More than that, it gave her the confidence to fully embrace the role of a DJ, and after a decade of toiling away, she\u2019s finally at a comfortable place in her career: she\u2019s toured most of the world, released a series of hit singles, had glowing write-ups in\u00a0Time,\u00a0Mixmag\u00a0and\u00a0DJ Mag, and played at such clubbing institutions as Fabric, Ministry of Sound and Torture Garden. It was her residency at Torture Garden \u2013 London\u2019s hottest fetish club \u2013 that allowed Slack to record her first full album. \u201cIt took about three years \u2013 it had its ups and downs like any long-term project,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was working on an album anyway, but needed some direction rather than random tunes, so I decided the album should reflect the styles I play at Torture Garden. A lot of people who go there wondered why there wasn\u2019t a compilation, and others who\u2019d never been were curious about its music.\u201d<\/p>\n
The album encompasses Slack\u2019s genre-jumping style, with music that many would describe as house and electro sitting comfortably alongside what others would define as dubstep and drum\u2019n\u2019bass. But genres notwithstanding, the album enabled the DJ to push some boundaries in terms of touring.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlbums are really the only way for an artist to justify going on tour. I\u2019ve been riding off the back of singles I wrote three or four years ago, and I really wanted to get to the next level, so writing an album was the way to do it.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the next couple of years I\u2019ll be releasing EPs, as waiting another three years to release something is just too long. And juggling touring with writing can be daunting,\u201d Slack says.<\/p>\n
While the constant flying and touring can wreak havoc on Slack\u2019s stress levels, there\u2019s one stop she never regrets making: Hong Kong. Her memories of the city, combined with its growing clubbing scene, prompted her to launch the album at Central nightclub Fly on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cHong Kong is where I started DJing over 10 years ago, and my old DJ friends and fellow members of the scene have remained supportive and stuck by me,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt made sense to have a launch in Hong Kong \u2013 every time I come back there are more clubs and bars pushing a wide variety of music. I have no idea how they\u2019ll react at Fly though.\u201d<\/p>\n
Considering her popularity, a good reaction is almost guaranteed \u2013 but regardless, Slack is almost too busy to notice.<\/p>\n
Up next is a mini-tour of Asia as well as gigs in Europe, before a full international tour once the album is officially released next year. Then there\u2019s her label, Slack Trax, which she runs by herself. She releases a track about every six weeks and has part-time gigs writing music for iPhone apps and video games.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as people are up for a party, then you do your best to entertain. If you do well, people dance. And if you don\u2019t, they leave the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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